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Only cultural mashup king Troy Heard could give Night of the Living Dead the Chekhov treatment—or is it the other way around? The 19th-century playwright meets George Romero in this spoof, where the serfs attempt to give the aristocracy its comeuppance. January 19-February 12, 1217 Main St., $23. –Mike Prevatt

“Poetry is the heart of being,” says Jack Hirschman, a San Francisco-based poet, translator and political activist set to host three free events here in conjunction with the Las Vegas Jewish Film Festival.

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And When I Die, I Won’t Stay Dead tells the story of your close friend, Beat poet Bob Kaufman. How did you meet? I came [to San Francisco] in 1972 from Los Angeles, and I met Bob Kaufman on the street …We thought the same things politically and poetically. We read together at venues here in North Beach, and we had a mutual respect for one another. Bobby would enter a place and you could hear a pin drop, and then [everyone would] burst into applause.

What do you plan to read here? I just published my master works in two big volumes that my wife calls “a doorstop.” I’ll also read a poem that I know by heart.

Tell me about your letter from Ernest Hemingway. In college, I wrote stories and imitated Hemingway. I sent them to him, being precocious and pretentious, and he responded. The letter [“Letter to a Young Writer”] was beautiful, warm and loving. After his death, it was published all over the United States. Poetry reading: January 20, 7 p.m., Winchester Cultural Center. Film screening/discussion: January 20, 1 p.m., Nevada State College Building 200; January 21, 7 p.m., Adelson Educational Campus. –Rosalie Spear

THREE UNIMAGINARY SHOWS

If that headline rings a bell, you’re probably headed to the Bunkhouse for Friday’s Vegas-scene Tribute to The Cure, with covers scheduled from Jesse Pino, We Are Pancakes, Rusty Maples’ Blair Dewane and many more (8 p.m., free). If you like your weekend soundtrack more punk than goth, hit the Double Down, where local pillar SquidHat Records will stage its fifth-anniversary bash over two nights, with sets by Franks & Deans, Wolfhounds, The Quitters and Attack Ships on Fire on Friday and Surrounded by Thieves, The Damnit Jims, The Venomous Pink, The People’s Whiskey and Hit Me Baby on Saturday (both shows 10 p.m., free). And for those with a bit of cash handy, influential proto punks The Sonics—yep, the LCD Soundsystem-tagged band behind 1965 cult favorite Here Are The Sonics!!!—play Backstage Bar & Billiards on Friday with support from The Van der Rohe, Self Abuse and The Swamp Gospel (8 p.m., $15-$20). Choices, choices… –Spencer Patterson

On his huuuge first day, our new president gets his first huuuge protest: the Women’s March on Washington, a declaration for the rights of women, immigrants, LGBTQIA folks and others who took fire during the campaign. Vegas’ “sister march” proceeds from 9th and Fremont to the federal courthouse on Las Vegas Boulevard, beginning at 11 a.m. January 21, free. –Geoff Carter

The blue-eyed British singer has taken his sweet time in capitalizing on his unintended resurgence, as it was nearly 10 years ago that any of us clicked on a link and were rickrolled, the meme that returned “Never Gonna Give You Up” to cultural ubiquity. After only a smattering of touring and recordings since retiring early from the music business in 1993, he began building up to a more earnest comeback after his 2008 rickrolling of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade with an impromptu performance of “Never” atop a float. Nearly seven years later, homeboy is touring the world again in support of last year’s U.K. No. 1 album, 50, and performing at the Palms. January 21, 8 p.m., $31-$77. –Mike Prevatt

Since 1974, this internationally touring, all-male company has combined expertise with a unique charisma, mixing ballet and comedy while dancing en pointe as swans, romantic princesses and angst-ridden Victorian women in more than 500 cities. Parodies for the Las Vegas production include Swan Lake, Esmeralda and Don Quixote. January 24, 8 p.m., $25-$75. –Rosalie Spear